The Pokémon franchise is easily one of the most profitable in all gaming, selling tens of millions of copies per entry and garnering critical acclaim with practically every release. At times, it feels like it can do no wrong, catering to both casual gamers and hardcore fans alike with a suite of new 'mons to catch and regions to explore. However, while the series has never quite lost its luster thanks to the ongoing anime series and frequent releases of mainline entries, a few hitches along the way have seen it decline a little in quality.
Namely, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet's performance issues showed the slight limitations of Game Freak's ability, especially when it comes to developing open-world spaces. Compared to other open-world Nintendo-produced titles such as Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Scarlet and Violet felt like a surprising misstep. This, naturally, brings into question whether another developer would be better suited to create Pokémon games. While Game Freak will never hand over the ridiculously profitable mainline entries to another developer, it's possible that one of Nintendo's first-party developers could step in and create an amazing spin-off.
Monolith Soft Would Make An Incredible Pokemon Game
It Has Proven Itself With The Xenoblade Franchise
Monolith Soft is one of Nintendo's best first-party developers, proving to be a phenomenal support studio - having worked on BOTW, TOTK, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Splatoon 3, and many more - and a lead developer on some of the publisher's best games. It is constantly pushing Nintendo's hardware with its Xenoblade Chronicles series. The original provided the Wii - and subsequently the 3DS and Switch - with one of the best JRPGs of all time; Xenoblade Chronicles X on the Wii U is one of the largest open-world games ever; and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and 3 pushed the Switch to its limits.
Miraculously, Monolith Soft isn't just technically proficient, creating vast and gorgeous open-world experiences, but also excellent with narratives. Xenoblade Chronicles 3's amazing reviews touted its narrative as being a maturely told exploration of war and grief, and even Xenoblade Chronicles 2's more anime-inspired story manages to pull at the heartstrings on more than one occasion. All of this naturally positions Monolith Soft to be the perfect choice for an open-world Pokémon spin-off.
It's worth clarifying that Game Freak would never simply hand over control of the mainline
Pokémon
entries. It co-owns The Pokémon Company with Nintendo and Creatures, so it has no incentive to give up development duties of the main games. This is why another developer would only be able to produce a spin-off.
If the Pokémon series has one major weakness, it is its narratives, which, to this day, remain completely unvoiced. They're often too simple or too derivative of one another, focusing on broad themes like animal cruelty, greed, and abuse of power. Naturally, Monolith Soft is experienced enough to create a more nuanced story-focused Pokémon adventure that's both fully voiced like the anime and character-driven. It has proven time and time again that it can create compelling party dynamics, much like what the Pokémon anime offers.
Additionally, Monolith Soft's proficiency with open-world game design would enable it to create a more dynamic world for players to explore. While Game Freak's attempt at creating an open world proved profitable, it also caused a significant uproar in the fanbase due to its poor implementation and initially buggy state. Were Monolith Soft to become the primary open-world Pokémon developer, while Game Freak continues to develop the type of Pokémon game it knows best, all types of Pokémon fans would be catered to extremely well.
Other Developers Have Made Pokemon Spin-Offs
Pokemon Colosseum, Snap, And Stadium Were Made By Other Developers
It's not as if there isn't a precedence for other developers stepping in and making full-blown Pokémon spin-offs. On the GameCube, Genius Sonority developed Pokémon Colosseum and Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, while on the N64, HAL Laboratory developed Pokémon Snap and Pokémon Stadium.
Even recently, ILCA developed the surprisingly good remakes of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, and TiMi Studio Group developed Pokémon Unite. Of course, the more recent Pokémon entries from different developers have veered more toward mobile game and remake territory, rather than unique spin-offs like Colosseum and Snap.
It's unclear why Nintendo hasn't leveraged its other first-party developers to produce more major Pokémon spin-offs rather than pushing Game Freak to its absolute limit to get multiple entries out in one year. While it's hard to say whether Game Freak handling all mainline Pokémon duties is responsible for the dip in quality - at least when it comes to technical performance - it does mean that Pokémon's identity feels entirely singular, unlike Nintendo's other franchises which have distinct spin-off entries.
It's unclear why Nintendo hasn't leveraged its other first-party developers to produce more major
Pokémon
spin-offs rather than pushing Game Freak to its absolute limit to get multiple entries out in one year.
Mario continues to evolve its identity with sports games, RPGs, platformers, and so much more. The Legend of Zelda has also managed to target every possible niche within its genre, offering industry-defining entries as well as more throwback experiences. Pokémon, at least recently, hasn't quite managed to do that, evolving iteratively with the likes of Legends: Arceus, and delivering entries that feel somewhat fresh, but are often marred by technical or gameplay limitations like Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.
Nintendo And Game Freak Need To Allow Other Developers To Make Big-Budget Pokemon Games
It's Time To See How Other Developers Would Handle It
It can sometimes feel hard to believe that Pokémon once had such distinct spin-offs. Pokémon Colosseum is the most obvious example, alongside Snap and Stadium, but there was also the Mystery Dungeon series, the DS exclusive Pokémon Ranger, and the TRPG Pokémon Conquest. However, these all released a very long time ago, with perhaps the only recent attempt at a true Pokémon spin-off being the maligned Detective Pikachu series.
With Nintendo experimenting with almost all of its other franchises, it feels apt for it, alongside the rest of The Pokémon Company, to go back to expanding Pokémon.
With Nintendo experimenting with almost all of its other franchises, it feels apt for it, alongside the rest of The Pokémon Company, to go back to expanding Pokémon. Frustratingly, however, it's clear why it doesn't, as Pokémon spin-offs don't do as well as the mainline entries, and the mainline entries do ridiculously well. Considering games cost a significant amount more to develop now than they ever did on the GameCube or Nintendo DS, it's not surprising that The Pokémon Company hasn't poured resources into another developer making a true Pokémon spin-off.
The Pokémon franchise has created many spin-offs, but the Pokémon Ranger franchise has been a clear standout even years after its release.
Mobile games and remakes produce plenty of revenue and don't cost as much to make as a Monolith Soft-developed story-focused open-world Pokémon game would. However, considering the success of the Xenoblade Chronicles franchise and the Pokémon community's desire for something a little different - the sheer sales numbers of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, despite their technical and gameplay shortcomings, speak to fans' desire for an open world Pokémon game - it is possible that eventually, The Pokémon Company will get Monolith Soft to make a Pokémon game, and when that day comes, fans can rest assured it will be incredible.
Custom Image by: Tom Wilson
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